Birth and childhood: practices that mark them
Protecting the newborn, naming rites and the charms hung over a cradle.
Birth and childhood are surrounded by protection because newborns and mothers are seen as especially vulnerable. Customs include the Indian black dot and kajal, the Turkish blue bead pinned to a baby, the Jewish red thread and the pidyon haben, the Chinese month of confinement, the Ghanaian outdooring, Yoruba naming ceremonies, the Italian cornicello and the Mexican red bracelet. This page looks at what these practices are said to do and what safe care requires.
Protecting mother and child
Many cultures ward off envy, spirits and illness during the early weeks. Mothers rest and are fed special foods, and visitors may be limited. Charms are hung over cradles and pinned to clothes. In many places the child is not named or shown to outsiders until a safe period has passed, and the naming is the moment of acceptance into the community. Families may also hold a feast for neighbours and kin, which spreads the work and the joy.
Naming and welcome
Naming rites place the baby among kin and ancestors. In Ghana the Akan outdooring takes place on the eighth day. In Hindu tradition, the namakarana is held in the first weeks. Muslim families whisper the call to prayer in the child's ear and hold an aqiqah. Jewish families hold a brit milah or a naming ceremony. In many African traditions a child is thought to be an ancestor returned. Parents in several regions tie a knot or a bead on the baby and keep a lamp lit through the first nights.
Midwives and women's knowledge
Midwives hold much of this knowledge, and many are respected elders. Their role has been undermined by medicalisation in some places and valued in others. In colonial and early modern Europe, midwives were sometimes accused of witchcraft. Today, many programmes train traditional birth attendants to work with clinics, because skilled medical care greatly reduces risk. Other customs, such as a month of confinement or the burying of the placenta, are held in many families and also have health consequences that vary from region to region.
Harm and care
Some customs harm: infants taken from care for rituals, twins or disabled children believed to bring misfortune, and, in some places, children accused of being witches. Others have been outlawed or reformed. Anyone with a pregnant or newborn child should seek proper medical care, whatever protective customs a family also keeps. Fathers and relatives share in the rites, and the first outing of the child, the first haircut and the first solid food are all marked in different cultures.
Birth and childhood on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreCaul
A birth membrane kept as a talisman for luck and protection from drowningCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk
European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir
Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreDomovoyДомовой
A household spirit in Slavic folklore that guards the family and home.Being · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 morePazuzu𒀭𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪 (pà.zu.zu)
A Mesopotamian wind demon and protective amulet against child-harming spiritsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 5 morePenanggalan
A floating head with trailing organs from Malay folklore, said to hunt pregnant women and newborns.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇪 Ireland and 3 moreChangeling
A substitute left by supernatural beings in place of a stolen human child or adultBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇵🇭 PhilippinesAswang
A shape-shifting monster from Philippine folklore that preys on humans.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreTurkish folkloreTürk halk kültürü
A rich body of oral tales, jokes, and rituals from Turkey and the Turkic worldTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇹 ItalyFortunaFortūna
The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaHindu astrologyज्योतिष (Jyotiṣa)
A traditional Hindu system of astrology and timekeeping rooted in the VedasTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇬 MadagascarSikidy
An algebraic geomancy practiced by Malagasy peoples using seeds to read fate and prescribe remediesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreHaoma
A divine plant and spirit in Zoroastrianism, linked to healing and ancient rituals.Substance · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanOmamori御守/お守り
Japanese amulets from shrines and temples for luck and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNazar battuनज़र बट्टू / نظر بٹو
A charm or deliberate flaw used in South Asia to ward off the evil eye.Charm · Protection Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreBoriBòòríí
A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreBonfire
A large outdoor fire used in seasonal festivals and religious feasts across many culturesRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaSmoking ceremony
A ritual using herbal smoke for cleansing and welcoming among Aboriginal AustraliansRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomEvil eye bead (sample)Nazar boncuğu
A blue glass bead hung to turn aside envy.Charm · Protection Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
- Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Hindu astrology: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Penanggalan: Hi I really try my best here, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sikidy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Caul: JC Brand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Philippine mythology: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- Omamori: Leongboy1, Public domain, source
- Nazar battu: Wiki-uk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bori: Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915, Public domain, source
- Bonfire: S Marshall, CC BY 3.0, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
- Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Domovoy: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Smoking ceremony: Shillings1005, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Turkish folklore: Biser Todorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source